Runway S/S18

RUNWAY GUIDO
“
You have to look at the model’s face when
you’re using flowers and accessories, you
have to train your eye so you can
play with height and width,
just like with an up-do
Guido Palau
Redken global creative director
“
Guido working at Dolce & Gabbana S/S18
Images courtesy of Redken
“IT FEELS LIKE I’ve never not worked with them!” laughs Guido Palau,
arguably the busiest Fashion Week session lead and Redken global
creative director, when asked how long his collaboration with Dolce &
Gabbana has lasted. It’s early on a Tuesday morning in New York, and
Guido is about to leave for his studio when Runway catches him on the
phone. “It’s been about 10 years, a long time. There are eight shows a year
that I’m working on, it’s a constant kind of relationship I have with them.”
And it’s a relationship that, for a hair stylist, is a particularly playful one.
Looking at the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk in the past decade and you can’t
help but smile at the colourful, joyful clothes and the prevalence of hair
embellishments; be they sweet and subtle ribbons or full-on regal crowns.
It’s an element to the shows that makes them stand out.
“The appeal is that there’s this subtle sexuality going on, and I think
that comes from their Sicilian roots, growing up in a rural environment,”
muses Guido. “A lot of their references are a country girl that’s not overtly
sexy, she’s twisted up her hair and placed a fresh flower in there. They’re
influenced by religious iconography – all very Italian and feminine.”
And that’s reflected in the hair on the catwalk – it’s restrained, not
too sexy but there’s a femininity that’s attractive to women. And with
the embellishments – such as the fresh flowers, jewelled pieces or even
something they’ve made particularly for that season – it adds to the
colour and the celebration of that woman. And for the fashion fan, it feels
like you could do the hair yourself; it doesn’t look too difficult, and Guido
is convinced that’s part of the appeal. “With the help of a hair accessory,
you can change a look in an easy way. I’m surprised that more women
don’t put fresh flowers or leaves in their hair, because it really does have
an impact,” he says. “Even if it’s just one single flower with a messy knot,
it’s such an easy way to update or change your look.”
An important element is keeping it all soft – structure is minimalised.
“With Dolce, if I’ve done a centre-parting it’s a soft one that I’ve created
with my fingers, pulled over the ears,” he explains. “Everything is always
soft around the ears, the temple and the neck, there’s a nonchalance to it.”
Of course, it’s breath-taking when those models are walking, but
accessories present some real challenges to Guido and his team
backstage. “Sometimes when we’re doing the couture shows, it can be very
hot and the flowers are wilting, so we have to change out the flowers just
before the models hit the runway,” he says. “Often gripping flowers into
the hair can be tricky, because the designers don’t like too much product
in the hair. So underneath we might put a little scalp braid so that there’s
something to bobby pin it in to. And sometimes accessories can be heavy,
so attaching it to some kind of braid beneath the shape is important.”
When creating different personalities with the flowers, it’s just like an
up-do in Guido’s mind – it’s all about proportion and weight, and to make
sure it “doesn’t look too twee”. “Sometimes there are flowers AND hair
accessories so it’s almost overloaded, and I just get buckets of flowers and
just go at it like I’m a florist,” he chuckles.
But he is adamant too that you need to train your eye in a more
technical way. “You have to look at the model’s face when you’re using
flowers and accessories, you have to train your eye so you can play with
height and width, just like with an up-do,” he says. “Not everyone gets it
right, and I often have to take flowers out and rearrange it when people
don’t quite see it.”
And there is the danger with accessories that it can go wrong and look
like “bad wedding hair”, he admits. It needs an ease to it. “It’s important to
keep the hair feeling soft and not looking too lacquered; let your accessory
be the star, the hair is the back-up, the base,” he advises. “It’s important,
those little details. With the Dolce woman, it feels and looks as though
hands have been there, it’s not smartened with a brush, then hairspray
and then flowers. I think you would lose the femininity. Having those
accessories oversized makes it more whimsical.”
But when it comes to Guido’s favourite accessory at Dolce & Gabbana,
his choice is rather less sparkly or traditionally pretty. “A couple of seasons
ago we did these fake fringes, it was really fun. Fake bangs in different
colours, flowers on top… it was almost this cartoony-princess idea but
still feminine in a modern way. It was another challenge to your eye
about beauty,” he says. “It’s funny, we often use carnations and back in
England they’re thought of as a rather naff kind of flower! But they’re very
traditional and can look very beautiful.”
Spring/Summer 2018 RUNWAY 39